Getty Stassi Schroeder
Stassi Schroeder dropped a bombshell in her new book.
The former “Vanderpump Rules” star, who was fired from her longtime role on the Bravo reality show in June 2020 amid a racism scandal, gave new details about her firing – and what else she really lost — in her tell-all book, “Off With My Head: The Definitive Basic B**** Handbook to Surviving Rock Bottom.”
Following the scandal, Schroeder apologized for her actions, which included falsely accusing a Black co-star, Faith Stowers, of a crime, and she put her focus on her new life as a wife and mother. Schroeder married her fiancé Beau Clark in September 2020 and gave birth to their daughter, Hartford, in January 2021.
Stassi Schroeder Was Supposed to Star in a VPR Spinoff
NBCUMVVanderpump Rules cast
In her book, Schroeder noted that following the Bravo firing, she lost everything — including something she hadn’t even started working on yet. Her “Straight Up With Stassi” podcast was pulled from all platforms, and tour dates for speaking engagements were canceled. She also had a deal with Sony for “an animated series” based on her first book that was scrapped. Schroeder’s plan to marry Clark in Italy was also postponed. The two ultimately had a low-key, secret ceremony at home, but in her new book, Schroeder dished that she was originally planning to have her Rome wedding filmed for season 9 of “Vanderpump Rules.”
In addition, she revealed that the show’s production company had plans to launch a spinoff with the original VPR cast members in a new, non-restaurant-based series before she was fired alongside Kristen Doute and newcomers Brett Caprioni and Max Boyens. Schroeder also noted that her European wedding would have served as part of a pilot for the new show.
“The ‘Vanderpump’ spinoff was supposed to be bridged by an episode about my gorgeous, Italian wedding, which would then introduce the new show,“ Schroeder wrote. “Surprise! We were all so looking forward to that.”
During an appearance on “The Morning Toast” on April 26, Schroeder elaborated on the show, which was to be called “Valley Rules.”
“They were going to slowly transition us and keep ‘Vanderpump Rules’ with a whole new cast of people who work at the restaurant, and so the rest of us would transition into this,” she said. “The way that ‘Vanderpump Rules’ started, where it was like ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ and it transitioned into ‘Vanderpump,’ that’s what we were going to do with my wedding. So that’s not happening.”
In her book, ex Bravo star added that even after she was fired from “Vanderpump Rules,” she held out hope that “the spinoff would still go ahead with some sort of focus on the canceling and the journeys to educate ourselves.”
“If the spin-off show would’ve happened and if it had been well received by fans, I could have gone on forever filming it because I believe that what makes a show worth doing is who you’re doing it with,” Schroeder wrote. “And this way, I’d be continuing on with my group of friends, my chosen family…Obviously, though, that’s not happening.”
Stassi Schroeder Said Some Producers Had Her Back
BravoStassi Schroeder and Lisa Vanderpump
In “Off With My Head,” Schroeder revealed that several “Vanderpump Rules” producers fought for her and Doute not to lose their jobs and that they “pleaded with Bravo” to reconsider letting them go.
Lisa Vanderpump also appeared to have their backs. While she didn’t condone her former employees’ behavior, during an appearance on the “Skinny Confidential Him and Her” podcast, Vanderpump said, “I think reality television is quite a good place to learn, I don’t like this cancel culture.”
“Of course, I do think sometimes people should be punished … and actions do have consequences, but I think people can grow from their mistakes,’ the SUR owner added.
Vanderpump also noted that she didn’t have a say in her former employee’s fate when Bravo and the show’s production company made the decision to fire Schroeder.
“If it were up to me, I would like to see them go on,” Vanderpump told Entertainment Tonight in August 2020. “I’m not into just kind of getting rid of people, because they get it wrong. Otherwise, I’d probably have nobody working for me at this point.”
In her book, Schroeder reflected on what she felt was an unfair move that ended her reality TV career on Bravo. “Just imagine making a terrible mistake, but one that has nothing to do with how good you are at your job,” she wrote. “And one that doesn’t truly reflect who you are.”